Dominic wore a black button-down shirt and black pants. My eyes fell to the top open button and the tease of his collarbone. A collarbone usually isn’t considered an erogenous zone on most men, but on him, it was my kryptonite. I could still taste the sweet saltiness of his skin as I ran my tongue back and forth, loving the growl that always vibrated against my lips.
“Are you all right?” Dominic asked with a chuckle, breaking me out of my fantasy. “Do button-down shirts still do it for you?”
He laughed at my scowl. No one read me better than Dominic.
“I’m fine. Curious where we’re going since you had to be all secretive about it.”
I stifled a smile when he opened the passenger side door for me.
“I’m not secretive, I’m spontaneous. Go with the flow, sweetheart.”
He cocked a brow, and the way he leaned against the door, his crooked grin and the light dancing in his dark eyes, it simply wasn’t fair.
He snaked an arm around my waist before I climbed into the cab.
“I’ve been waiting for this all day long. Well, if I’m honest,” a bashful smile drifted across his mouth, “I’ve been waiting for years.” His hand slid to the back of my neck, triggering all the tiny hairs to stand straight up.
“That’s a long time to be waiting for dinner.” I attempted a joke to deflect the weight of his stare.
“I’ve been waiting foryou.”
I had so much to say, but the words caught in my throat.
It didn’t matter where we were going, because despite my efforts at resistance, I’d follow him anywhere.
We both relaxed a bit on the drive, the both of us stealing glances at each other like a couple of lovesick teenagers. At thirty-one, my heart pounded harder for Dominic than any silly boy I crushed on, and more than any other man I’d ever known.
“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble. Dinner was relative, I could have eaten anywhere,” I told Dominic as we pulled into the parking lot of what appeared to be a fancy hall on lush grounds next to the water.
“We could have.” He nodded as he put the truck into park. “You keep saying it’s not a big deal, but it is.” Dominic’s mouth flattened to a hard line. “I have a lot to make up for with you. Maybe it’s a silly place to start, but it’s still a start, right?”
He slid his palm against mine and squeezed. Dominic could always charm me into anything, at least, that’s what I told myself on the drive here. But when he was like this, so vulnerable with his open heart on his sleeve, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to resist.
We were seated at a table on the patio overlooking the water. The restaurant was packed, and judging by the way Dominic greeted so many people on the way to our table, I’d bet he’d pulled some strings since I’d seen him this morning.
“This is nice,” I admitted. “I haven’t really been to many restaurants around here other than the seafood place near the hotel.”
“I wanted better than that for us tonight.” A frown dipped the sides of his mouth.
I set down my menu and glared at Dominic. “This place isn’t meant to like, one up Adam is it? Because that would be ridiculous.” I raised my brow until he lifted his head.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms. He lifted his shoulder in a shrug.
“Do you want to know why I broke things off with Adam?” I scooted my chair closer to the table and rested my elbows on the edge.
“Do I like thinking of his ring on your finger to begin with? Fuck, no.” He barked out a humorless laugh before he finally brought his eyes back to mine. “But, I have no right to be angry at that, and it’s none of my business.”
“You’re very right on both counts. You don’t, and it’s not.” I tilted my head. “But I think whatever exchange you and Adam had the day he came to the hotel is gnawing at you a little bit. So if we’re going to move past it, I need you to listen.”
He squared his shoulders as if he were bracing himself.
“A couple of weeks after we were engaged, Sue thought it would be fun if we went to a bridal salon to try on dresses, although I couldn’t fathom even thinking about a date at that point. We picked out a few, and I came out to one of those big three way mirrors to give her a thrill and leave, but I didn’t expect tolikethe dress so much.”
My own eyes dropped to the table as the flood of emotions came back, how it only took less than a second for a silly way to pass an afternoon to knock the wind out of me and become all too real.
“Even Sue got a little choked up, which, if you remember, is pretty rare for her.” I chuckled and shook my head before meeting Dominic’s eyes again. He said nothing as he waited to see where I was going with this story.
